5. QFT: Shor’s Algorithm

Shor’s Algorithm

Why is there so much hype (and fear) around quantum computing?

Most internet security (like HTTPS/RSA) relies on the fact that factoring very large numbers is hard.

The Threat: Peter Shor discovered that by using Phase Estimation (and thus the QFT), a quantum computer could turn this "hard" math problem into an easy one.

The Impact: A powerful enough quantum computer could crack current encryption in hours, not millions of years. This is why the world is racing to build one.